Energy and Environment Research; Vol. 5, No. 2; 2015 ISSN 1927-0569 E-ISSN 1927-0577 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 16 A Sustainable Approach to the Harmonization of Electric Power Availability with the Mining Industry in Africa: A Case Study of Mozambique Ryunosuke Kikuchi 1,2 1 Faculty of Science and Technology, Ryukoku University, Otsu, Japan 2 Centro de Estudos de Recursos Naturais, Ambiente e Sociedade, ESAC – Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Correspondence: Ryunosuke Kikuchi, Department of Environmental Solution Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Ryukoku University, 1-5 Yokotani, Seta, Otus 520-2194, Japan. Tel: 81-77-544-7129. E-mail: kikuchi@rins.ryukoku.ac.jp Received: June 25, 2015 Accepted: September 13, 2015 Online Published: September 30, 2015 doi:10.5539/eer.v5n2p16 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/eer.v5n2p16 Abstract It remains for a sustainability study to consider how to meet social needs for energy services in the realization of sustainable development, because globally about 2 billion people still have no access to modern energy. It is therefore necessary to draw attention to energy access ‒ two million deaths annually are associated with the indoor burning of solid fuels. Energy-supply infrastructure globally needs a cumulative investment of US$25.6 trillion for the period 2008-2030, and the African portion of this investment is estimated at US$454 billion. Power generation that is dependent on the mining industry seems to be a worthwhile subject for considering the combination of energy availability with national development, so this strategy is discussed, with the focus on a case study of Mozambique: it can be estimated that the self-supply system in the mining industry actually exports a certain amount of power to national and regional markets, and there may be an opportunity to generate low-cost power through the use of discard coal from coking coal export operations. However, Mozambique should prevent discard coal from becoming a hazardous load: mercury is one of the most toxic elements in coal and its by-products. Political strategies that solve a socio-economic problem but cause an environmental one should be avoided if sustainable development is to be properly realized. Keywords: electrification, discard coal, mining industry, mercury, Mozambique, sustainable development 1. Introduction The classic definition of sustainable development is proposed as follows (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987): “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. The main principle of sustainable development harmoniously encompasses the environment, the economy and the social sphere (Nath et al., 1996); to put it differently, sustainable development aims to achieve a balance between these various components that make up a community by enabling its residents to meet their present and future needs. How society meets its needs for energy services is central to the prospects for sustainable development and one of the most critical challenges facing humanity today (Science Council of Japan, 2003). Energy resources are rich in Africa, but they are not sufficiently utilized. Just one-third of Africans have access to energy, so this low accessibility slows economic growth on the continent as well as seriously limits human potential and degrades the quality of well-being (review in Banerjee et al., 2015). If nothing changes, Sub-Saharan Africa will actually see the number of people without electricity increase from 590 million in 2013 to 655 million by 2030 (review in Banerjee et al., 2015). Given that access to electricity is a key factor in national development, it seems to be a worthwhile subject to consider how to improve the energy supply, expand access and reduce the economic burden. This subject is therefore discussed, with attention mainly focused on the African region.